CFB legend Nick Saban expresses deep admiration for Deion Sanders following his Week 3 heroics: "He’s done a great job of marketing the program"

The Deion Sanders era at Colorado could not have started any better, as going undefeated into Week 4 would have been beyond any Buffaloes fan's wildest dreams. Justifiably, Coach Prime has been getting his dues from all quarters.

Now, effusive praise has come from legendary Alabama coach Nick Saban, who pointed out the aspects that made Deion Sanders great.

"I have a tremendous amount of respect for Deion Sanders," Saban said. "First, he's a great person, and he's done a great job of marketing the program to create a lot of national interest."

Speaking on Wednesday's SEC coaches' teleconference, Saban then detailed the former Jackson State coach's work at Colorado:

"But I see their team playing well on the field. They play with discipline, they do a good job of executing, they've been able to score points, playing decent on defense. So all those things, to me, are indicators that he's a really good coach.

"I've always thought that, and he's always been successful, whether it's Jackson State, high school or now Colorado. His teams have always been well coached."

The recognition from Saban came a few days after Sanders also honored the Alabama coach in an interview with CBS' "60 Minutes."

“I’ll tell you this, I love and adore and I respect and every time I do a commercial with Coach Saban, it’s a gift,” Sanders said.

“Just sitting in his presence and hearing him and throwing something else out there so I can hear his viewpoint on it because he’s forgotten more things than I may ever accomplish. So I’m a student looking up to this wonderful teacher saying, ‘Just throw me a crumb of what you know.’”

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The Deion Sanders-led Colorado revolution

Deion Sanders started his Colorado revolution under a wave of criticism due to his unorthodox way of doing things.

His first action was to hold a team meeting where he encouraged several prospects to enter the transfer portal because he was bringing in his own people.

Amidst calls of nepotism, Coach Prime then brought in his sons Shilo and Shedeur Sanders, who had entered the transfer portal from Jackson State.

He was roundly criticized for overhauling the Colorado roster, with many analysts opining that it was the wrong way to go about matters.

Deion Sanders addressed his impact on Colorado and his unusual way of doing things on the now controversial CBS "60 Minutes" interview.

"I make a difference. I truly make a difference. I make folks nervous, man. I get folks movin' in their seat. I get folks twiddlin' their thumbs. I get them thinkin' and second-guessin' theirself," Sanders said.

"You know -- have you ever been so clean that you walked in, and somebody looked down at you, then they looked at themselves? They had to check themselves because you were so clean? I have that effect."

The criticism faced by Deion Sanders has largely faded into the background after the way that the Buffaloes have started this season, justifying most of his decisions.